Seattle City Council passes new ordinance banning drug offenses | News

The Seattle City Council (SCC) passed a new law to combat the city's drug crisis and prostitution by a vote of 8-1 on September 17th.

The two new laws include Council Bill 120835more commonly known as Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA), which allows courts to ban a person from entering newly designated zones if they have committed a drug offense. Council Bill 120836known as “Stay Out of Area of ​​Prostitution” (SOAP), classifies buying or selling a sexual act as a gross misdemeanor.

SODA introduces two zones, including SODA Zone 1, which borders downtown through Stewart Street, University Street, 6th Avenue and 1st Avenue, and SODA Zone 2, which covers an area in the International District. Amendments to the bill added additional zones, including the area in the U-District between Northeast 52nd Street, Northeast 43rd Street, 15th Avenue Northeast and Brooklyn Avenue Northeast.

“This bill, which covers less than 0.5% of Seattle, will not in itself solve what we face in the drug markets, but it will help disrupt the drug trade by building on the lessons learned from previous editions and “To achieve the goals of our strategic framework and create a safe space in our city,” said Robert Kettle, 7th District Councilman and SODA sponsor, during the council meeting.

Seattle has previously enforced SODA zones and drug-related loitering laws dating back to the 1990s when Mark Sidran served as Seattle's district attorney, but in 2020 the SCC voted for repeal Some of these loitering laws have drawn criticism after being criticized for their ineffectiveness and disproportionate impact on minority communities.

District 2 Councilmember Tammy Morales, who spoke against both of the council's bills, mentioned this at the Sept. 17 SCC meeting.

“The city of Seattle had both SODA and SOAP zones for over 20 years and research has shown that these ordinances did not reduce drug use or human trafficking,” Morales said.

Seattle is among many cities in Washington state that have adopted SODA zones in the past. The Everett City Council (ECC) approved their first SODA regulation In 2007, SODA zones were designated every two years to keep abreast of police reports and referrals. The ECC last defined these zones in June 2023.

ECC District 2 Councilmember Paula Rhyne explained the role, intent and impact of SODA laws.

“While SODAs have spared certain neighborhoods from street crime, they do not eliminate crime, they just spread it to areas outside of a SODA,” Rhyne said. “A SODA addresses the symptoms of our country’s drug epidemic, not the root causes such as addressing demand, social inequities and the lack of opportunity for all in our communities.”

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell signed both laws on September 23rd, meaning the laws will take effect on October 23rd after 30 days.

Contact News Editor Morgan Bortnick at [email protected]. X: @morganbortnick

Do you like what you read? Support quality student journalism by donating here.